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How to Put Your Records on a CD

The audio recording industry has a history that dates back more than 100 years to the 19th century. Within this time span, vinyl records were first introduced in the late 1940s. For a long time, records were the preferred medium used to sell pre-recorded audio until cassettes came along, gaining wide popularity in the late 1970s, and then CDs in the 1980s. Some of us still have a stack of old records tucked away somewhere. It may not seem right to throw them away, but then again records just aren't used as much. The solution: transfer the records to CDs.

Things You'll Need

  • Blank CD-R
  • Record turntable
  • Windows 7 computer equipped with a CD burner
  • Audio recording software
  • Set of RCA audio cables
  • RCA female to 3.5mm stereo male adapter
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Instructions

  1. Connect Record Player to Computer

    • 1

      Connect the RCA adapter to the computer's stereo input jack.

    • 2

      Insert one end of the set of RCA cables into the RCA jacks on the turntable. RCA cables are color coded. The red RCA cable goes into the red RCA jack. The white (or black) RCA cable goes into the white RCA jack.

    • 3

      Connect the other end of these cables into the jack on the RCA adapter.

    • 4

      Plug a set of headphones into the computer's headphone jack to monitor sound output.

    Record Audio from the Turntable to the Computer

    • 5

      Launch the computer's audio recording software. Windows comes pre-installed with an audio recording application called "Sound Recorder." It's located in the Start menu at "All Programs" > "Accessories" > "Entertainment" > "Sound Recorder." Windows Sound Recorder is a minimalistic audio recording application. For a more robust audio recording application, download and install SourceForge's Audacity software which is a free audio editor and recording program.

    • 6

      Open the application's "Properties" or "Preferences" box. Set the source recording device to the computer's soundcard. Set the recording sample rate to 44.1 KHz. Set the bit-rate to 32.

    • 7

      Place the record you want to transfer to CD onto the turntable. Cue the record to the spot where you want to begin dubbing.

    • 8

      Press the Record button in the audio recording application. Begin playing the record. (If the record level is too high or low, adjust the Windows Volume Control "Line In" level.) Press the Stop button at the end of the audio track to end the recording. Save the recording as a ".wav" file type in the Windows default music folder.

    • 9

      Repeat steps 1 through 4 to record additional audio tracks from the record.

    Burn WAV Files to CD

    • 10

      Insert a blank CD-R into the computer's CD-RW drive.

    • 11

      Open the Start menu and type "Windows Media Player" in the "Search" box to launch Windows Media Player.

    • 12

      Go to the "Burn" tab. Click "Burn Options" and select "Audio CD."

    • 13

      Browse to find the .wav recordings captured in the previous section.

    • 14

      Drag and drop the .wav recordings into the "Burn List." Click "Start Burn."

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